Wall-paper-display rack.



R. N. BEARD.

WALL PAPER DISPLAY RACK.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2|.1916. RENEWED JUNE 29, 1918.

1,27 6,16 1 i Patented Aug. 20, I918.

lvwent 0'1 #055? A/ 55 5 /9 0 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT 1\T. BEARD, 0F OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

WALL-PAIER-DISPLAY RACK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug, 20 1918 Application filed April 21, 1916, Serial No. 92,627. Renewed June 29, 1918. Serial No. 242,666.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT N. BEARD, residing at Omaha, Douglas county, Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Wall-Paper-Display Racks, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide a stand having reversible supporting means so that books of samples mounted upon opposite sides of the stand may be displayed with equal facility.

Another object is to provide a stand which will accommodate and hold in compact form, a greater number of wall-paper samples than has heretofore been possible with the racks commonly used for display purposes.

A further object is to provide a stand upon which the samples of wall-paper may be mounted effectively and conveniently, and in a manner consonant with the artistic character of the goods to be shown.

A stillfurther object is to so form the wallpaper supporting portions of the stand that the increase in thickness of parts of the sample books, due to the assembling therein of matched border patterns of less length than that of the side wall and ceiling paper patterns, that the overall thickness of the books when mounted upon the stand together with said stand, will be substantially uniform throughout the greater part of their length.

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which the same parts are indicated by the same symbols throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a view of the stand in front elevation;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same with the sample books mounted thereon and showing the compact shipping form of the whole;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the outfit in display position;

Fig. 4: is a top plan view of the device;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section taken along line 66 of Fig. 1, showing one method of securing the books of wall-paper to the upper part of the frame.

It has hitherto been customary to make up the wall-paper samples in the form of books for distribution to the trade, or the samples were mounted upon a wooden frame held upright by means of twov supporting arms hinged to the frame, and when the line to be displayed exceeded the capacity of one book of convenient size, two books were made up out of the line and mounted upon two frames hinged together, one book on each frame. Such devices were unwieldy and of unattractive appearance and unduly increased the expense of shipping them.

It is the province of my invention to overcome the difiiculties above enumerated and others without sacrificing the strength of the stand and at the same time to greatly increase the capacity of the same, and to simplify and lighten the construction thereof to the end that the objects hereinabove outlined may be achieved.

I accomplish the desired results by making the stand out of metal, and as shown in the drawings, utilizing flat strips shaped to conform to the design as shown.

The body of the frame is shown with itsside members 10, top connecting member 11, diagonal braces 12, and foot portions 13 terminating in short diagonals 1 1 connected to braces 12 by the short connected portions 15.

A U-shaped bail 16 having a bulged central portion 17 to provide foot portions 18 for contact with the floor or other plane sur face, is pivoted to the body of the frame by means of the rivets 19 passing through the terminal portions 20 of the diagonal braces 12, side members 10, and the bail arm portions 21, and supports the body of the frame in display position asshown in Fig. 3.

It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 1, that the bail 16 extends with its foot and bulged portions beyond the lower part of the frame so as to be free to move from a position on one side of the frame to the other. This feature permits the ready display of either of the two books carried by the stand, and the progress of the frame in the operation of moving it from one side to the other is facilitated by utilizing the bail as a lever arm for supporting the weight of the frame and the books during the interval of shifting from one display position to the other. Stop chains 26 or the like secured at its ends to frame and bail respectively are used to retain the parts in properdisplay position.

To provide means for supporting the sample books A suitable devices such as the crossbar 22 are arranged near the upper part of the frame, preferably below the top connecting members 11, and secured in any suitable manner. If the cross-bar 22 as shown in the drawing is used, it is perforated as at 23 to receive fastening pieces 2 for connecting the books A mounted upon opposite sides of the frame. In the embodiment shown the space 25 between the crossbar 22 and top connecting member 11 may be used to advantage in the event that it is desired to provide bound upper edges for the books, in which case the binding piece may extend across the cross-bar 22 and be secured along its edges to the books by the fastening means 24: connecting said books as shown in Fig. 6.

It should be noted that the sample books A are made up of leaves of wall paper of'different lengths, the short leaves C comprising side wall border patterns, and the long leaves B, the ceiling and side wall paper patterns. The short leaves or border patterns are secured to their respective side wall patterns in any suitable manner, preferably by pasting them together Or by stitching, and arranged with their top edges below the upper'edges of the longer leaves.

From the arrangement described it will be noted that at points where the border leaves are arranged the books will be of greater thickness than at points above and below the same; therefore, to compensate for this increase in the bulk of the books throughout the area of the border leaves and to avoid bulging of that portion of the book containing the border leaves beyond the plane of the lower portion of the book, that portion of the frame outlined by the side members 10, cross-bar 22, and diagonal braces 12, is free from frame members and provides a pocket for the reception of the thicker parts of the book.

With the provision for acconnnodating the thicker part of the books, that portion of the book below the short border leaves may rest upon the edges of the lower framing members with no appreciable difference in the overall thickness of the books when mounted upon the stand.

I do not desire to limit myself to the particular supporting means shown in the drawing, for obviously the supporting plates or cross-bar 22 may be arr nged diagonally across the upper corners of the frame and the books suspended from them, or, the fas-v tening means 24: may pass through eye-bolts secured in the top member 11 of theframe.

Due to the fact that the books are secured to the stand at points along the thinner portion above the area of the border leaves, the inspected patterns may be thrown well back over the top bar of the frame thereby permitting an unobstructed view of the remaining patterns.

The time available for the assembling of the samples into book form is so short that in order to reach the trade in due season, great'numbers of these books mounted upon the stands must be shipped by express. This method of shipping them would be expensive were it not-for the fact that these stands, made up as-they are of but a single frame, are lighter in weight than the double stands heretofore used, and being constructed of metal are better able to withstand the rough handling they receive in shipping them, and are more compact.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A display stand comprising a frame member and a relatively short supporting bail member pivoted thereto, said frame member having at its lower portion connected bracing elements terminating at the point of pivotal connection with the bail member.

2. In a wall paper display rack, the combination comprising a single frame member, book securing means supporting books mounted upon opposite sides of said frame, a relatively short reversible supportingbailmember pivotally connected with the frame member whereby said frame may be shifted from one display position to another, and bracing elements terminating at the points of pivotal connection with said bail memher.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of Apri1,'1916.

ROBERT N. BEARD Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents; Washington, D. 0. 

